The explosion faded into silence. Dust and shards of light drifted through the air like dying stars.
When Elior opened his eyes, he saw the runes on the floor had ignited — all of them pulsing in perfect rhythm with his heartbeat.
Cael stood at the center, sword lowered but still glowing faintly with celestial energy.
Around them, the Order's soldiers lay scattered—unconscious, not dead. The power that had burst out moments ago hadn't come from their hands. It had come from the Sanctum itself.
Elior looked around, awestruck. "It's… responding to us."
Cael's voice was low, controlled. "No. It's recognizing us."
The crystal monolith at the chamber's heart began to shift. Its cracked surface mended slowly, light threading through the fissures like veins reforming. The glow deepened to a soft white, then fractured into two streams — silver and gold — circling around Elior and Cael before fusing again above them.
A whisper filled the air. "The Starbonded return, when the skies divide anew."
Elior's breath caught. "That voice…"
"It's the Sanctum," Cael murmured. "A remnant of the ancient guardians."
The air vibrated, and a spectral figure emerged — translucent, cloaked in starlight.
Its face was neither man nor woman, but timeless, radiant. "You who once sealed the rift," it said. "Why have you awakened?"
Elior stepped forward. "We didn't mean to. The resonance—"
The figure's eyes glowed faintly. "Then the seal weakens. The balance breaks once more. The heavens stir because the cycle nears its end."
Cael frowned. "What end?"
"The end you chose," the guardian replied. "The moment your souls refused to fade, you bound the stars to your will. But every bond demands a price."
Elior felt his chest tighten. "What kind of price?"
The guardian's gaze turned toward him, soft but heavy. "Memory. Identity. One must forget, so the other can live. That was the pact of the Starbond."
The words struck like thunder.
Elior turned to Cael, who looked pale beneath the shimmering light.
"I was meant to forget," Cael said slowly, realization dawning. "You carried everything, didn't you?"
Elior shook his head. "It doesn't matter now. What's important is that we—"
A sharp hum interrupted him. The ground trembled again.
Runes around the Sanctum flared, and the guardian's form began to flicker. "They are coming," it said, voice fading. "The Order has breached the outer wards. You must reach the Heart of Solis. Only there can the bond be restored—or broken."
Before Elior could ask, the apparition vanished in a burst of light, leaving the chamber trembling.
Cael grabbed his arm. "We can't fight them here. The energy's unstable."
Elior nodded, glancing one last time at the fading glow of the monolith. "Then we head for the Heart."
They ran through the side passage that opened from the Sanctum — a spiraling path of glass and crystal leading deeper underground. The further they descended, the stronger the hum grew, like a pulse buried beneath the earth.
Elior's voice was low, strained. "If the Heart of Solis is real… what do you think it will do?"
Cael didn't look back. "If it's the core of the Empire's magic, it might either save us—"
"—or destroy everything," Elior finished.
They emerged into a vast cavern — glowing rivers of liquid light flowed across the stone floor, illuminating enormous gears and crystal pillars. At its center, suspended in midair, was a sphere of pure luminescence — rotating slowly, radiating warmth and gravity at once.
"The Heart of Solis," Cael whispered.
Before they could move closer, a voice rang through the cavern.
"So it's true," said the Cardinal, stepping out from the shadows with a dozen armored priests behind him. His eyes gleamed gold beneath the hood. "The fallen stars walk again."
Cael's expression hardened. "You're too late."
The Cardinal smiled. "No. I'm right on time."
He raised his staff, and golden chains erupted from the air, wrapping around the glowing sphere.
The Heart shuddered, its light dimming. Elior gasped as the sigil on his wrist flared painfully.
Cael reached for him. "Elior!"
The chains snapped tight — and everything went white.